Miranda: The Prodigal
Miranda's estranged father is trying to take back her sister, Oriana. Miranda needs to go to Illium and get her sister off-world safely. Acquisition Miranda's loyalty mission becomes available after completing the events on Horizon. You'll have to bring Miranda with you to Illium to be able to talk to Lanteia. Preparation As Miranda has the tech and biotic skills of a Sentinel but fragile health and light weaponry, consider bringing along a squad member with high endurance and damage output. Alternatively, as almost all of the enemies are Eclipse mercenaries, any squad member who helps deal high damage to shields, armor, or health is a good choice. Be aware, however, that a few enemies will possess barriers, including the final boss. The Arc Projector has some utility dealing with flanking problems in the final battle, allowing you to damage dispersed groups of enemies as long as you can see any one of them. Walkthrough Illium When you land on Illium, EDI will message you after your conversation with the concierge, and say that Miranda’s contact is at the Eternity Bar. Miranda will thank EDI and you head towards the bar. Upon meeting Lanteia, Miranda's asari contact at the Eternity Bar, it is revealed that Miranda's old childhood friend Niket, one of the few people she trusts, will be involved in the transfer. Shepard can ask Miranda if Niket is trustworthy and Miranda replies that Niket is the only person she trusts from her past life. Illium Cargo Terminal During the flight towards the cargo terminal, Miranda notices several Eclipse Gunships at the cargo area, which a cutscene then shows several Eclipse mercs, deploying from the aircraft. Miranda tells Shepard to land behind cover and the mercs. The mercs open fire, though an Eclipse Engineer, who is supposedly expecting you, orders them to cease-fire. However, the cab had been damaged from the open fire, forcing a hard landing a few meters away from the mercs. The squad exits the disabled cab and a conversation starts with the Engineer. The Engineer informs that you have arrived too late and his captain, Enyala, is moving in on Oriana and Niket will not be helping Miranda. As an angry Miranda accuses him of lying, the Engineer gloats that their conversation has given his snipers time to take position. At this point, you have an option for a Renegade interrupt. If you choose to interrupt, Shepard will break the Engineer's neck while Miranda pulls her pistol and shoots the merc standing behind the Engineer. Shepard then glances up and fires a few shots at an overhead fuel container, which falls and explodes. Then the squad runs into cover and the fight begins. If you didn’t interrupt the Engineer, he will order his fellow mercs to attack while you and the squad are in the open. Run into cover and take out the mercs. Regardless of the course of action, you will be battling against Eclipse Troopers, Heavies, and Vanguards. Remain in cover while taking out the mercs and be watchful of the Heavies as they fire rockets at you. After disposing the group of mercs, move up and take cover at the right turn because there will be even more mercs there. They are using the cover to take pot shots at you, so wait until they stick out their heads and shoot them as they appear. The moment you enter into the elevator, another cutscene plays. Miranda finds an Eclipse radio and taps into their communications. Miranda then confides to Shepard that though Oriana is her genetic twin, she took her when she was just a baby. She goes on to say that she was not the first child that her father created, just the first one he kept and she had left behind everything from that life except Niket. Once more, Shepard questions Niket's trustworthiness but Miranda reassures Shepard again that Niket is a trusted friend. Container Transfer Area When you enter the area, Miranda points out that since all the containers are being moved around, it will be harder to target and acquire enemies. She also warns you that some of those containers consist of explosive hazardous materials. Go into the container on your right to hack a datapad for 1,500 credits, though this container is easy to miss. Just as you reach the first conveyor belt, you will come under attack. Use the elevated cover in the middle to your advantage and take out the enemies on the opposite side. Watch out for enemies trying to flank you, especially on the left. At times, the enemies will remain behind cover and not return fire, so get closer to take them out. Also, be wary of the explosive containers as you are shooting because the explosion can kill you if you are too close to it. After dispatching the enemies, go further down to find a med kit in a corner of a container and a submachine gun upgrade on a desk in the next container. As you come around the next corner you will be attacked by some Loki Mechs; just grab cover and fend them off. You can then grab 1,500 credits from the locker on the far side of the small room - note these are easily missed, so don't proceed down the hallway from where the mechs attack before picking it up. Cargo Terminal Conveyor Two Now when you move into the hallway the mechs attacked you from, a large group of mercs will attack from your right. If you jump up on the "pickup truck" and take cover there, you will be shielded from any mercs who try to flank you from the left side. Once all the enemies are down, head across the belt and search for a Medi-gel upgrade on a dead merc and hack the computer in the office room for 3,000 credits. When you emerge from the office room two more enemies will spawn around the corner, including one firing rockets, so be ready. Cargo Terminal Conveyor Three When you go down the hallway to the next area, you hear Enyala over the radio ordering her troops to send everything except her personal guard to stop Shepard and the squad while she goes after Niket. As you head down the hallway, there will be more resistance around the corner. At the last conveyor before you reach the elevator to Dock 94, you will face numerous Eclipse mercs. The Eclipse Heavies are more likely to flank you than the other type of mercs but the latter will still attempt to flank you if you don’t force them to hide with suppressive fire. Use the elevated cover in the center for the best combat squad member, and place your squad members on either side of the cover. The Eclipse will attack in several waves from the left, so do not proceed until the coast is clear. Move over to a dip in the conveyor line and Miranda will say that it’s a way across. You can use this to flank enemies, however, it is not a recommended action because enemies will approach you on your left or from behind. Search the area for 3,000 credits on a security terminal and a crate of eezo. There are also 3,000 credits, which you get after hacking the pad of a dead merc in one of the crates. Cargo Terminal Elevator Approach Just as you enter this area, EDI notifies you that the mercs have disabled the elevator leading up the dock, though EDI is in the process of overriding the elevator. Take cover immediately as enemies will begin pouring out of the elevator in at least two waves, though an Engineer's Combat Drone or a Vanguard with charge can prevent the appearance of additional enemies by approaching the elevator. Defeat the mercs and retrieve the power cells across the elevator and Medi-gel in the medical station. If you have a sniper rifle equip it before entering the elevator - it will help you quickly eliminate the Vanguard occupying the safest spot in the next section. Just as you enter the elevator, a cutscene will play. You hear Enyala radioing orders to transfer the family to an Eclipse Transport. Miranda become frustrated with the possibility of Niket betraying her and hacks the elevator to speed it up. Dock 94 Continuing from where the last cutscene left off, Niket looks frustrated at the asari dock official because of a security situation, referring to Shepard and the squad blasting through the terminal, and as a result, she cannot transfer anyone out. Enyala sarcastically remarks about the waste of time, but Niket reminds her that minimal impact on Oriana and the family is necessary. Shepard and the squad arrive from the elevator while the dock official tries to run, but Enyala mercilessly shoots her. Miranda confronts Niket in disbelief at how he had sold her out and a conversation ensues. At the end of the conversation, Miranda draws out her gun, intending to shoot Niket. A Paragon interrupt (for 5 Paragon points) is made available to prevent her from killing Niket. If you interrupt, Niket will apologize but Enyala will shoot him in the back instead. Either way, Miranda biotically flings the Eclipse Captain across the room and a battle begins. Take cover behind safe positions in the dock while holding out waves of Eclipse mercs. If Shepard's class is a Soldier or an Infiltrator, the sniper rifle is useful in killing Enyala from a distance. Unless you have access to a sniper rifle, you'll want to get moving, as you will quickly be flanked by Eclipse Vanguards and Troopers, while being assaulted by an Eclipse Operative. Stay away from Enyala while you systematically mop up her soldiers, noting that further Eclipse will be spawning from the elevator on the far side, the one marked "EXIT". A good conservative strategy is to quickly dispatch the Eclipse Vanguard to your right and then occupy her former position in the lane with the medkit. It has ample cover in all directions and enemies in the other lanes will not be able to close with you easily. If you need to keep Enyala off your back while dispatching the mooks, you could send a teammate armed with a rapid fire weapon to take position in the doorway of the elevator in which you came up. Enyala will typically try to close in on you personally, but she will be distracted by your teammate's sustained fire, which will also wither her barrier. Being armed with a shotgun, Enyala won't be able to return fire effectively across wide the walkway from the elevator, making your teammate's job relatively safe. Once everyone is dead, focus on Enyala. Once you've secured your position, the Arc Projector can quickly eliminate the mass of mercenaries before Enyala is able to close range with you. Interposing your squadmates between Enyala and your chosen position will help keep her at bay for longer, as she will not generally advance past an active squadmate. Keep a careful eye on your squadmates health and immediately revive them with medigel whenever they go down - keeping them up is essential to avoiding becoming surrounded. Stasis if you have it can help keep Enyala at bay for a bit as well, and an Engineer can continually target the Combat Drone on Enyala while systematically eliminating mercenaries - and note that doing so immediately at the beginning of the battle will prevent further Eclipse from spawning. Finally in the far back right corner there is a tall obstacle which you can circle all the way around if you need a last ditch hiding place. This final battle can get very frustrating on harder difficulties such as Insanity as Enyala charges you even when every other merc stays in cover. Normal insanity tips used in other Mass Effect 2 levels saying to stay in cover and slowly work the mercs down won't work in this case. There is a strategy / work around that makes this whole battle very simple though. From the starting point when you start the section and all hell breaks loose, have Shepard run to the right and into the orange colored elevator. (Let your squadmates die, they don't matter.) Place Shepard at the back of the elevator facing towards the door. When Shepard is facing towards the elevator door, on the left side of the elevator about halfway across the room is a square looking column on the elevator wall. The wall column just looks like a decorative part of the level design. In fact, you can walk Shepard over to the column and "walk inside the column". The mercs just stop shooting at Shepard and even combat drones when launched will come up to the column where Shepard is located and just wait until they die. While "inside" the column, you can shoot pistols, submachine guns, use powers, etc but you can't shoot sniper rifles. Something about the extended zoom of a sniper rifle causes the shot to not work even though you are right on target. All other weapons with normal zoom will work. The mercs in this level (when Shepard is not "inside" the column) will work their way up to a garbage dumpster / small cover in front and to the right of the elevator doorway. The best strategy is to move out of the column, use weapons / powers on the mercs in cover, and then move back into the column to recharge your shields. Enyala tends to stay out in the level running around but can be drawn over to the cover eventually by sending Shepard out as an inviting target. If you take your time, you can kill off all of the mercs easily without the major hassle of getting killed quickly. There is another strategy that works without exploiting this glitch AND keeps your squadmates alive. From inside the elevator facing out, to the right going out of the elevator there is a hall ending in a dead end. Immediately at the start of the segment, head in that direction and order your squadmates to the very end of the cul-de-sac, where they can sit safely, cover your back, and support you with abilities. From inside the elevator facing out straight ahead there is an L-shaped piece of cover. Head there immediately. If you are careful to stay within the crook of the "L", no enemy will advance beyond this point unless you accidentally lead them to you. The exception to this is the Eclipse Vanguard, who you should take out ASAP right when you reach the cover, and then possibly Enyala. Enyala will take her time about this though, and if you're lucky she may not even advance at all. Even if she does advance on your cover position, you should be able to recharge your shields safely in the crook of the L cover while focusing her down without fear of any other enemies flanking you (the exception to this being any combat drone summoned by the Eclipse Operative which you should take down immediately). The other major threat after the asari are down is the salarian Eclipse Operative, which is an armored boss version of an Engineer armed with a very dangerous rapid fire weapon and the ability to instantly restore his shields if left alone. However aside from the drones he summons he isn't an imminent threat to you and you can pick him off at your leisure once the vanguard and Enyala are down. The only other enemies are standard Eclipse mercs which should be no trouble as long as you are careful; once the big threats are down you can also have your squadmates come out from hiding and join the fight to make things easier. Finally, if the worst comes to worst and Enyala or another enemy are about to flush you from the L-shaped cover, you can make a break for the glitched elevator pillar as a last resort. After eliminating all opposition, search the far right of the dock for Medi-gel, acquire 3000 credits from a computer, and retrieve a lost locket for an asari near the dock's exit. Exit the dock to end the mission. Upon reaching at the designated floor, you will see Oriana with her family from a distance. Miranda is happy that Oriana can live a normal life. Miranda decides to leave, but you can convince her to meet Oriana and her family. Normandy Back on the Normandy, you can approach Miranda to find out about the meeting she had with Oriana in Illium. Miranda says that Oriana’s family was shocked from learning the truth but Oriana adjusted quickly to that knowledge. Miranda is happy to know that Oriana has a normal life in comparison to her own life. If you have already completed Jack's loyalty mission, when you return to the Normandy, Joker will page Shepard over the PA saying that Jack just went to have a talk with Miranda. When Shepard decides to handle it, Joker jokingly replies, “Take pictures.” Shepard arrives in Miranda’s office only to find Jack flinging a chair across the room and Shepard tells them both to knock it off. Jack is furious that Miranda will not admit to what Cerberus did to her was wrong. Unless you have enough Paragon or Renegade points, you cannot end this situation without alienating one or the other crew member. If you have enough points, then you earn the loyalty of both crew members and can continue any relationships that you have started. If you fail, then you will lose out on any relationships with either one and her loyalty, depending on whom you alienate. The amount of Paragon/Renegade points required also varies during the course of the game, due to how Mass Effect 2's Charm/Intimidate system works. You need a high percentage of the Paragon or Renegade points obtainable from the areas that you've explored in order to pass the persuasion check; the amount of the meter that is filled in does not provide an accurate indication of whether Charm or Intimidate will be possible. Email If you convince Miranda to talk to Oriana, she will send Shepard a message titled "Guardian angels": Enemies *Captain Enyala *Combat Drone *Eclipse Engineer *Eclipse Heavy *Eclipse Operative *Eclipse Trooper *Eclipse Vanguard *LOKI Mech Mass Effect 3 Consequences If this mission is not completed, Kai Leng will mortally wound Miranda during Priority: Horizon in Mass Effect 3. Mission Summary Miranda’s sister and her family successfully placed at (LOCATION REDACTED). Mother’s new job pays well enough to ensure comfort and ease. Will keep Oriana under observation for her safety only. Miranda Lawson is too valuable to Cerberus, and Oriana’s well being is easiest means of procuring loyalty. Miranda remains loyal to Cerberus and now trusts Shepard. *Experience: 750 (937) *Credits: 30,000 **Cerberus Funding: 15,000 **Credits Found: 15,000 *Resources **Element Zero: 500 *Upgrades **Submachine Gun Damage (Microfield Pulsar) **Medi-Gel Capacity (Microscanner) *Powers **Miranda: Slam Trivia *Dock 94 may be a reference to Docking Bay 94 located in Mos Eisley in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, where Han Solo had his Millennium Falcon waiting to smuggle Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker off Tatooine. *During the last elevator cutscene, one of the music jingles from the notoriously long Citadel elevator rides in Mass Effect can be heard in the background. Appropriately, Miranda curses the elevator for not going any faster. Category:Loyalty Missions Category:Mass Effect 2 Category:Missions Category:Illium